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Nicolas Cage
(father) (brother) (brother) (uncle) (aunt) (cousin) (aunt) (cousin) |occupation(s) = Actor, producer, and director |years active = 1981-present |spouse = (1995-2001) (2002-2004) Alice Kim (2004-present) |children = With : Weston Coppola Cage With Kim: Kal-El Kim Coppola |film = Ben Sanderson in Castor Troy/Sean Archer in Cameron Poe in Donald Kaufman in Benjamin "Ben" Gates in National Treasure Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider in }}Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor, producer, and director who has appeared in over 70 films, including (1987), (1987), (1995), for which he won the , (1996), (1997), (1997), (2000), (2002), National Treasure (2004), (2005), (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), (2009), (2009), (2010), (2012), and a voice role in (2013). Early life He was born Nicolas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, California, to parents , a professor of literature, and Joy (Vogelsang), a dancer and choreographer. He was raised in a Catholic family. His father was of Italian descent and his mother is of German and Polish descent. His paternal grandparents were composer and actress , and his paternal great-grandparents were immigrants from Bernalda, Basilicata, Italy. Through his father, Cage is the nephew of director and actress , and the cousin of directors and , film producer , and actors and . Cage's two brothers are New York radio personality and director . He attended Beverly Hills High School, which is known for its many alumni who became entertainers. He aspired to act from an early age and also attended UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. His first non-cinematic acting experience was in a school production of . Career To avoid the appearance of nepotism as the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, he changed his name early in his career to Nicolas Cage, inspired in part by the superhero . Since his minor role in the film , with , Cage has appeared in a wide range of films, both mainstream and offbeat. He tried out for the role of Dallas Winston in his uncle's film , based on 's , but lost to . He was also in Coppola's films and . Other Cage roles included appearances in the acclaimed 1987 romantic-comedy film , also starring ; cult-classic comedy ; 's 1990 film ; a lead role in 's 1999 New York City paramedic drama ; and 's 2003 drama film , in which he played an agoraphobic, mysophobic, obsessive-compulsive con artist with a tic disorder. Cage has been nominated twice for an , winning once for his performance as a suicidal alcoholic in . His other nomination was for his portrayal of real-life screenwriter and Kaufman's fictional twin in . Despite these successes, most of his lower-profile films have performed poorly at the box office compared to his mainstream action/adventure roles. The suspense thriller (1999) was not a box office success, but is now considered a cult film. He took the lead role in the 2001 film and learned to play the mandolin from scratch for the part. In 2005, two films he headlined, and , failed to find a significant audience despite nationwide releases and good reviews for his acting in those roles. Poor reviews for resulted in low box office sales. The much criticized (2007), based on the Marvel Comics , fared better, earning more than $45 million (the top earner) during its opening weekend and over $208 million worldwide through the weekend ending on March 25, 2007. Also in 2007, he starred in , which shared the concept of a glimpse into an alternate timeline with Cage's film, (2000). Most of Cage's movies that have achieved financial success were in the action/adventure genre. In his second-highest grossing film to date, National Treasure (2007), he plays an eccentric historian who goes on a dangerous adventure to find treasure hidden by the . Other action hits include (1996), in which Cage plays a young FBI chemical weapons expert who infiltrates in hopes of neutralizing a terrorist threat, (1997), a film where he plays both a hero and a villain, and (2006), director 's film regarding the . He had a small but notable role as the Chinese criminal mastermind in 's fake trailer Werewolf Women of the S.S. from the B-movie double feature Grindhouse. Cage made his directorial debut with , a low-budget drama starring James Franco as a male prostitute whose mother ( ) serves as his pimp. Cage had a small role in the film as Acid Yellow, which received poor reviews and a short run in a limited number of theatres. Cage's producing career includes , the first effort from . In early December 2006, Cage announced at the Bahamas International Film Festival that he planned to curtail his future acting endeavors to pursue other interests. for the , Cage is listed as the executive producer. In November 2007, Cage was spotted backstage at a wrestling show in New York City researching his role for . The role was ultimately played by , who received an Academy Award nomination for his performance. The Wrestler director , in an interview with slashfilm.com, said of Cage's decision to leave the film that: "Nic was a complete gentleman, and he understood that my heart was with Mickey and he stepped aside. I have so much respect for Nic Cage as an actor and I think it really could have worked with Nic but ... you know, Nic was incredibly supportive of Mickey and he is old friends with Mickey and really wanted to help with this opportunity, so he pulled himself out of the race." Cage, an avid comic book fan, auctioned a collection of 400 vintage comics through for over $1.6 million in 2002. In 2007, he created a comic book with his son Weston, called , which was published by . Cage is a fan and collector of painter and underground comic artist . He has written introductions for magazine and purchased the painting Death On The Boards. In 2008, Cage appeared as Joe, a contract killer who undergoes a change of heart while on a work outing in Bangkok, in the film . The film is shot by the and has a distinct Southeast Asian flavor. In 2009, Cage starred in science fiction thriller , directed by . In the film, he plays an professor who examines the contents of a time capsule unearthed at his son's elementary school. Startling predictions found inside the capsule that have already come true lead him to believe the world is going to end at the close of the week, and that he and his son are somehow involved in the destruction. The film received mainly negative reviews but was the box office winner on its opening weekend. Also in 2009, Cage starred in the film , directed by acclaimed German director . He portrayed a corrupt police officer with gambling, drug and alcohol addictions. The film was very well received by critics, holding a rating of 87% positive reviews on review aggregator website . Cage received lauds for his performance, with of the writing "Herzog has found his ideal interpreter, a performer whose truth lies deep in the artifice of performance: ladies and gentlemen, Nicolas Cage, at his finest." This film reunited Cage with , who played his love interest in Ghost Rider. In 2010, Cage starred in the period piece Season of the Witch, playing a 14th-century knight transporting a girl accused of causing the Black Plague to a monastery, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, in which he played Balthazar Blake, the sorcerer. In 2013, Cage voiced Grug Crood in the film . Personal life In 1988, Cage began dating actress , who later bore their son, Weston Coppola Cage (born December 26, 1990). Weston is lead singer of the black metal band Eyes of Noctum, and appeared in Cage's film Lord of War as Vladimir, a young Ukrainian mechanic who quickly disarms a helicopter. Cage has been married three times. His first wife was actress (married on April 8, 1995, divorce finalized on May 18, 2001). Cage's second marriage was to singer/songwriter , daughter of . Cage is an Elvis fan and used the star as the base of his performance in . Presley and Cage married on August 10, 2002 and filed for divorce on November 25, 2002 which was finalized on May 16, 2004. The divorce proceeding was longer than the marriage. Cage met his third and current wife Alice Kim on July 30, 2004. Kim is a former waitress who previously worked at the Los Angeles restaurant Kabuki and at the Los Angeles-based Korean nightclub, . Their son, Kal-El (named after 's birth name), was born on October 3, 2005. In December 2009, his ex-girlfriend Christina Fulton sued Cage for $13 million and the house she is living in. The suit was in response to an order that she leave the dwelling that was brought about by Cage's financial difficulties. On April 15, 2011, at 11:30 pm, Cage was arrested in New Orleans in the city's famed district for suspicion of domestic abuse battery, disturbing the peace and public intoxication, after a police officer was flagged down by onlookers after Cage allegedly grabbed his wife's upper arm while appearing to be under the influence of alcohol. Cage was held in police custody until a bail of $11,000 was posted by . He was later ordered to appear in court on May 31, 2011. On May 5, 2011, it was announced that the charges against Cage had been dropped. External links * Category:American film actors Category:Film producers Category:Directors Category:Males